On the 8th of February the OSC Track & Field team embarked on a trip to Chennai to compete in SAISA- a South Asian competition. The competition lasted three days, starting on the 9th ending on the 12th. Joining track as my first OSC SAISA was the best decision I could have made. The collaboration and closeness of our team was so amazing to experience. As a team we merged together, supporting and pushing each other during the tournament.
The first day we arrived in Chennai, and got to the American International school (AISC) , everything was a bit daunting and new for me. However, we were able to familiarize ourselves with the track which helped me ease my nervousness. I had five individual events and two relay events: 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, long jump, 4×100 and 4×400. All these running events were a challenge mainly because I had a shin splint on my left shin and ‘stress syndrome’ on my right shin, so I had to make sure I remained careful and looked after my injuries to stay strong for the entire competition. I planned on how ways in which I could maintain the strength in my legs by contacting Mel the physio. She helped give me advice and instruction on what to do between and before my events to keep my shins loose and relaxed.
Out of all my events, the one that scared me the most was the 800m, only because it was unfamiliar to me and I had only practiced it once before the competition. Which was a struggle because I didn’t know how to pace myself for it. However, I did surprisingly well, taking 12 seconds of my PB (Personal best). I was in the lead for the entire last lap but it was in the last 100m where two girls overtook me. This was because I had started accelerating too early on the last lap and had used up all my energy by the end of the race. Nevertheless, I used the experience as a learning curve to improve and win for the next SAISA.
Overall, I really did commit to the competition and persevered even when things got painful with my injury. I refused to let my team down, especially in the relays where our girls team won both the 4x100m and the 4x400m. Having Ms. Kelly and Ms. Sue as coaches was the best. They were so understanding, inspirational and really pushed me to do better than I thought I could. I will definitely try out for next year and can’t wait to experience this again.
